Single (and ready to mingle)!
by Live Don't Just Exist
Summary: How Will and Nico 'really' got together. Or, alternately, the one where Will Solace 'applies' for the position of 'being the exclusive boyfriend of (that hot piece of ass over there) Nico di Angelo'.


**Author's notes:** I have been gone awhile because our internet connection has been disconnected due to financial difficulties ): I only ever have time nowadays to search for stuff related to school, so writing has become a background thing because I only have enough time and money to do my school assignments and projects. I finally had the time to sneak out and post this.

For bailci, I actually wrote this out already on your birthday, when I saw people greeting you in tumblr. I was going to post it the day after, but that was when the internet connection was, sadly, disconnected. Sorry for being late!

 **Summary:** How Will and Nico really _got_ together.

Or, the one where Will 'applies' for the position of ' _being the exclusive boyfriend of (that hot piece of ass over there) Nico'_.

* * *

 **Single (and ready to mingle)!  
** _by LDJE_

"What are you doing?" Kayla asked, her hair braided on the side with a feather. She was copying Piper's style now, something about finding her own style by going through other people's styles or something- Will tries to listen to her (really he does), but then sometimes certain sons of Hades pass by windows and the blond couldn't be blamed for turning his attention to attractive and available demigods (instead of listening to weird self-discovery things his sister was spouting).

But said son of Hades won't be available for long, if Will had anything to say (or do) about it.

"I'm applying," Will said, writing gracefully on paper. He wasn't _just_ the best medic in camp, he was also the best _calligrapher_ too. Children of Aphrodite often come by to ask him to make love cards for them to send to their significant others or families. Hey, now that he thought about it, he could put under the 'Skills' category. He carefully wrote it under 'has healing powers that would put Rapunzel to shame'.

"Oh, you're applying for a part time job at school or something?" Kayla asked in a bored tone, rifling through the papers on his desk because she was nosy like that.

"No." Will said patiently, "I'm applying to be Nico's boyfriend of course." When he said Nico's name, he accidentally wrote _hot piece of_ ass instead of the son of Hades' name. He carefully erased it. Thank goodness he was using pencil. There was sound of choking, spluttering, and crumpling paper before he felt his sister throw herself at his shoulder. He nearly ripped his application. "Hey!"

" _What?_ " Kayla yelled in his ear, making him flinch and turn to give her a frown of disapproval. She rolled her eyes at his expression. "You're doing _what?_ "

Will sighed and he got back to what he was doing as he said, "I'm applying to be Nico's boyfriend."

" _Why_ in Hades are you doing that?"

"I think it's romantic!" Came Austin's voice from somewhere inside the cabin.

"No one asked you, Austin!" Will and Kayla yelled back at the same time without looking back.

"Okay, so tell me again why you thought applying to be Nico's boyfriend is a good idea?" Kayla leaned forward, reading what Will wrote over his shoulder (and rolling her eyes when she a saw what he wrote on status: 'single and ready to mingle').

"Macy said it's romantic. She's a daughter of Aphrodite so she knows what she's talking about." Will remarked still not looking up.

"Uh, Macy's _six_." Kayla explained, "I don't think you should be asking for dating advice from a _six-year-old_ , Will."

"She's a daughter of _Aphrodite_ and she's smart for a six-year-old." Will stated, frowning, "Remember when she predicted Mark and Stephanie would break up? She clearly knows what she's doing and/or saying."

Kayla pinched the bridge of her nose "That's because she saw Stephanie kissing someone else when she said that! And Macy was the one who tattled so of course they were going to break up!"

Will gave Kayla the stink eye, and sometimes she is really amazed at how her usually calm and mature brother easily turns into a stubborn child whenever he is out of his depth.

War against the Titans? Cool, calm, collected Will Solace to the rescue. War versus Kronos? Saving lives left and right, no-sweat Head of the Apollo cabin right there. War with Gaea? Will volunteers for stake out and confidently leads Lou Ellen and Cecil into the fray. Ask Nico out on a date? Beeeep. Oops, sorry, the usually calm, cool, collected Will Solace is out of coverage area, please try again later.

"Look," Kayla placed a hand on his shoulder, "Can't you just, I don't know…" She shrugged, "Ask Nico out like a normal person?"

Will let out a slow breath "I tried but- I don't think he really got the blatant staring or the following him everywhere-thing. I mean, it worked for Percy and Annabeth? Why is it so hard for him to get that I want to date him?"

"Maybe you have to be more direct, maybe-"

"You can't get any more direct than this." Will said, waving the application and well, yeah, he had a point there, but still-

"Will-"

"Anyway,what could possibly go wrong?" He shrugged, then he turned his puppy eyes dog at him when she didn't answer. "So, can you write me a letter of recommendation or something?"

And Kayla, the gullible sister she is, did.

Still didn't stop her instincts from telling her that this was maybe a bad idea.

* * *

Will came back into the cabin covered in spaghetti that night. Kayla had gone to bed early, feeling sleepy and had woken up to her brother coming back in late.

"Will?" Kayla sat up, rubbing her eyes. The thing about Apollo's cabin was that it was never dark enough to hide anything. She laughed when she took in Will's somber form. "Oh my gods, what happened?"

"Nico got my application." Will said brushing off a stray chees on his shoulder and sighing.

"Okay, I have every right to say this, so let me…" Kayla inhaled deeply and then let out a loud, "HA! I _told_ you so!"

Will pursed his lips and the humour Kayla found in the situation drained out in one snap. She reached out and dragged Will towards one of the sofas, knowing she'd have to clean it up later what with the sauce running down her brother's shirt.

"What happened?" She asked, quietly.

Will shook his head, bits of meat flying to the floor and some hitting her in the face, but she was polite enough not to mention it. "He, uh- got mad." His shoulders slumped, "He ripped it up and it sunk into the ground. He looked like he wanted to punch me so I had to- to go."

Despite all the teasing she'd given him for the past few days, she knew how hard Will really worked on that 'application', as silly as it was. He wrote it carefully, ripping it whenever he made a mistake and he asked a few of their siblings for recommendation letters.

Her blood boiled and she imagined shooting arrows at a certain son of Hades tomorrow. For now, she inhaled deeply, "There are better people for you out there, Will."

Will smiled at her tiredly, "I don't want better people, though." He said, and that was most probably the most heart breaking thing Kayla had ever heard. Will got up and thanked her, kissing her forehead in goodnight.

"Don't worry about the couch." Kayla said to her brother, "I got it."

"Thanks." Will said, relieved as he headed to shower.

But cleaning the couch wasn't the only thing on Kayla's mind that night.

* * *

"So," Kayla said as she polished the tip of an arrow, "You _had_ to know this was bound to happen."

Nico shot her a glare from where he was tied to a tree, his back on an arrow target and an apple to his head. "I guess I should've expected it." He snarked.

Austin shot Nico a glare back, his arms crossed. Justin was there too, lips pursed unhappily, and a few others. For the past few days, the mood in Apollo's cabin was tense, especially with Will going around, a lost look on his eyes. He shied away during sword practice activities, having Kayla lead the younger ones instead and he avoided going to the dining pavilion like a plague. When Apollo's children heard about the cause (courtesy of an annoyed and enraged Kayla), they all set out to confront the problem in sibling solidarity-

-which was why Nico was tied to a tree with a target on his back and an apple on his head.

"Look, we know that we can't force you like Will," Justin spoke, "I mean, it's your loss- Will's great, he's the greatest healer this camp has ever had-"

"He's a great storyteller and singer!"

"I like his smiles!"

"He's funny and caring-"

"Basically he's great." Justin summarized when Nico began to look pained at what they were saying, "And yeah, everyone can say no when they don't like someone-"

"But you didn't have to say no the way you did!" Austin interrupted, "You didn't have to be _cruel_ about it!"

Nico pursed his lips. "What's _cruel_ …" He spat with so much venom that a few of Apollo's children flinched back, "Is the fact that I'm tied up here because of something your _brother_ did."

"Hey!" One of the younger Apollo members cried out, "Sure, it was a bit silly, but Will really worked hard on it!"

Nico rolled his eyes.

Another of Apollo's children said, in a hurt tone, "He really liked you."

At those words, Nico's expression faltered before hardening. "Well, it's his fault that I can barely stand to look at him, right? We would've been fine if he didn't pull that joke in the first place!"

Kayla stepped up, a frown on her face, "Joke? That 'joke' meant a lot to Will!"

"Hurting my feelings meant a lot to him?"

 _"What in_ _Hades_ _are you talking about?"_ Kayla yelled, "My brother was trying to ask you out!"

At those words, the angry look on Nico's face faltered, " _What?_ "

Austin huffed, "It might have seemed like a joke to _you_ , but it meant a lot to Will. He'd been thinking about a way to ask you out for a month!"

"Wha- bu-"

"Sure, it seemed stupid and silly and a bunch of other things, but Will was serious." Kayla narrowed her eyes, "Did you even read it before you ripped it up into shreds?"

Nico swallowed, "I thought-" He said softly, "I thought he was joking."

Kayla let out a loud exhale, "Why, in Apollo's name, would you think that?"

Nico looked down, a frown on his face, "I'm used to people making fun of me. And-" He swallowed, "Being what I am and from where- when I came from, I'm used to people hating for being Hades' son or-"

"Or for being gay." Justin finished, "Okay, I sort of see where you're coming from."

"At least he didn't punch Will." Another of Apollo's children chimed in and there was a general murmur of agreement. "I would've punched him…" Another whispered earning a smack from one of his siblings.

"Look, we won't tell you that everyone in this camp accepts you but I can honestly say that everyone in our cabin accept and like you to a certain degree." Kayla said, "So does the whole Aphrodite cabin who's all about love and acceptance blah blah. A majority of the campers don't actually care and well, the small percentage left are blind, small-minded losers." She shrugged.

Nico looked at them, surprise clear in his dark eyes and Kayla sighed again.

"But you still hurt Will, even though you were only trying to protect yourself." Kayla continued, "We get that, we respect that. I mean Will, could have been more direct about it _but_ you could also have _just asked_ him if he was joking."

Nico hung his head in defeat, "You're right."

Kaya looked at him for a few minutes, when she determined the regret to be genuine, she signalled a few of her brothers to cut the ropes and free Nico.

The moment the ropes fell to the ground, it dissolved into shadows, surprising a few of Apollo's children. It seemed like Nico could get out of them any time he wanted.

Kayla huffed at the dissolved ropes and placed her hands on her hips. "So," She said, "Since I am so forgiving and merciful-"

There was a disbelieving snort from Austin and she shot him a glare that shut him up fast.

"-I will allow you _and_ Will to fix this. But for that to happen, I'm afraid you have to make the first move." She said magnanimously as she and her siblings began to retreat. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Nico one more time, "And don't you screw this up this time."

With a flip of her hair, she sauntered out of there.

* * *

Will was still moping around Apollo's cabin the next day. Most of their siblings couldn't take the thick cloud of sadness hanging around, and vacated accordingly. It was that or hover around Will, trying to cheer him up, which was fruitless.

"Hey look, I even got you some key lime pie. You like key lime pie, right?" Austin said nudging the burrito that was Will Solace covered in blankets.

"Key lime pie sucks." Will said gruffly and there were dramatic gasps all around the cabin. Kayla rolled her eyes and got herself out of there as fast as she could. She was getting annoyed, what was taking Nico so long in cheering Will up?

She decided to pass by Hades' cabin to either check on Nico or kick him into gear. Thankfully the door was already open and all she had to do was peer in.

Nico was sat on the dark stone floor, a frown on his face and he was staring at the pieces of, Kayla guessed, Will's application. She sighed and leaned against the door, pulling out some clear tape from her pocket, (she'd used it on Austin because she didn't have any waxing strips, and the thing he called a moustache on his face was hideous and needed to be removed immediately, to the entire cabin's, minus Will and Austin's, agreement).

She threw it at Nico's head who merely raised a hand and caught it, an eyebrow raised in her direction. Kayla rolled her eyes, "You're taking too long and I thought you could use some help." She shrugged.

"And you thought giving- _hitting_ me with scotch tape would help _how_?"

"You don't know how you'll approach Will. You don't know what to say. You don't know where to begin." Kayla guessed and by Nico's expression, she was right. "Well, why don't you start by putting back together what you tore apart?"

Nico glanced down at the pieces of paper, an uncertain look on his face.

Kayla huffed and left.

* * *

The next night, during the dinner campfire, everyone was chattering and going about their business, getting ready for the campfire sing-along. Though, everyone noticed how it was less energetic with only a few of Apollo's children joining in.

As Chiron got ready to pass around the lyrics for the camp sing-along, Will stood up, deciding to sit this one out. Being the head of the Apollo cabin and usually the one who led the sing-along, several people took notice of his sudden departure.

But before he could make his way towards his cabin, a certain son of Hades pursed his lips and stomped towards him, grabbing him by the arm.

"Will." Nico tried not to flinch at the fact that a lot of people were turned towards them now, in interest. "Wait, I need to talk to you."

"Uh," Will said, turning around, trying not to meet his eyes but at the same time not wanting to show anyone that something was wrong. "W-What's up?" He said in fake cheer.

Nico squared his shoulders, an uncomfortable look on his face, "It's about- about what we talked about last time."

Will's face took on a deer-in-the-headlights kind of look. Kayla would have laughed if the air around the two weren't so thick with tension. "Oh." He said weakly. "I don't think there's anything to talk about, I already said sor-"

"No, there _is_ something to talk about." Nico said, gripping Will's arm tighter when the blond flinched. He cleared his throat and said in a louder voice, "I was- I was wrong. And I'm- I'm the one who's sorry."

"Nico…" Will said, not understanding what's happening, but knowing that every eye was on them now. Nico hated crowds. He swallowed, "We shouldn't talk about it here- I mean- you're-"

"I want them to hear what I have to say." Nico interrupted, "Will," He reached into his pocket and Will expected the worst to come out of there-

-He didn't expect Nico to pull out his 'stupid', handwritten application, all taped up, and shove it at him.

Will blinked and had no choice but to accept it with shaking hands.

"I don't have the best experiences with people. When I get close to someone they get hurt, every experience I have in loving a person ends up with both them and me getting hurt." Nico said, eyes steady and Will looked up to meet his dark gaze. "Everyone noticed that and unconsciously, no matter what you claim, everyone keeps away from Hades' weird kid."

A few of the campers exchanged looks, frowns on their faces. A few had sad looks on their faces, Annabeth and Percy's eyes were sad with regret.

"Even when I left camp, everyone treated me like-" Nico made a disgusted sound, "They didn't treat me well, especially when they learned who I was. Some demigods I met were cruel and back in my day, being gay had you torn from your families. I was- _am_ very wary of everyone. I've learned to never take things at face value. I learned to think everyone always has an ulterior motive. I thought _you_ did when you gave me that."

Will looked down at the application he'd worked so hard on. He could see where Nico was coming from, he lived in a different time where being gay was to be hidden and in this time, being Hades' kid, most demigods were cruel to him. To be gay _and_ to be a child of Hades? He had it rough.

"I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop for a long time. Everything's peaceful, something's bound to go wrong soon." Nico exhaled, "Even during the Titan's war, after Kronos' defeat, I was acknowledged by my father and I thought that maybe I could finally have a home at camp. Barely a month in and… well, it didn't work out."

Nico had to find some other home, it's what brought him to the Roman camp. He couldn't stay in a place where everyone kept looking at him warily.

"After Gaea's war, people started accepting me again. But for how long this time? When will the shoe drop this time?" Nico shrugged, teeth gritted. "I thought when you gave me that application thing, that this was it. This is how I'll be pushed away again, everyone knows I had a crush on Percy and they'll hate me for that. They'll hate me and make fun of me for liking a guy."

Will inhaled sharply, turning his hand to grip Nico by the arm too, "Nico, I wasn't-"

Nico sighed, hand dragging down to grab him by the wrist instead, "I know. Your brothers and sisters made it very clear that you were serious about this." He snorted.

Will shot a surprised look at his siblings who gave him the thumbs up.

"They were _very_ persuasive." Nico grumbled and Will paled, knowing how _persuasive_ they could be (read: the last one who broke up with a child of Apollo was cursed into saying poems and was tied to a tree).

"Guys!" Will scolded them, hissing.

"We were only trying to exact revenge on him for breaking your heart!" Someone yelled and whispers among the campers erupted.

Will turned to Nico, "I'm sorry, you didn't-" He swallowed and straightened, "You shouldn't be forced to say things just because my cabin-" Nico huffed and hit Will lightly on the shoulder. "Ow!"

"No one's forcing anyone. I decided to do this and tell you this because I realized I was in the wrong. You're my friend first and foremost Will, I should have known you would never hurt or make fun of me." Nico said seriously.

"Yeah…" The small hope in Will's chest died out quickly. _Friend_ , crap, was this Nico trying to _friendzone_ him?

Nico cleared his throat and Will looked up, "So," Nico said awkwardly, reaching inside his pocket again. "I got you this."

Will blinked as a white envelope was shoved in his direction, "What's-"

"Just open it."

And Will did, ripping the top of the envelope quickly. There were a few papers folded inside it. Was it a free voucher for McDonalds? He unfolded the first one it quickly.

On the very top of the first piece of paper were the words: RECOMMENDATION LETTER

 _He's stubborn and overworks himself, he likes being alone but he's willing to go to great lengths just to keep the people important to him safe. He's been through a lot. But he's a great person._

 _Give him a chance. –Jason_

Another sheet of paper with the same title.

 **He's my most favourite person that ever tried to kill me. Sort of tried to kill me. But then again a lot of people tried to kill me and some became sort of allies. Hm, nevermind he's _one_ of my most favourite _people_ that ever tried to kill me. –Percy**

The next sheet of paper was from Hazel`

 ** _He brought me back to life. Literally. And he's the best brother I know. –Hazel_**

And the second to the last paper wasn't a recommendation at all.

 _Hurt him and I'll kill you. –Reyna_

Will laughed a bit and turned to the last page, it was a boyfriend application just like the one he gave. Will's heart stuttered and he looked up at Nico who looked nervous but determined.

"This is the longest thing you've ever said to me." Will said, carefully folding the application. "You're usually the brooding, silent type."

Nico's lips twitched, "Sometimes, important things need to be said."

Will swallowed, "And?" He asked and Nico gave him a curious look, so he continued, "What are you trying to say here, Nico? What's this for? Why did you…?" He trailed off, looking at his taped together application.

"Isn't it obvious?"

The blond let out an amused huff, "I just want to be sure. No more misunderstandings."

Nico stepped up and Will's eyes widened at the close proximity. "Go out with me?"

"You're sure?" Will asked, eyes still unbelieving at what was happening. "You're not gonna dump spaghetti on my head if I say yes, are you?"

The children of Apollo, minus Will, glared at Nico at those words, remembering that night. Nico winced.

"I'm sorry about that." Nico said and he held up his hands hesitantly. Will carefully pocketed the applications and then slowly took Nico's hands into his. "I'm not- I won't- I mean," He inhaled deeply and tried to get himself together. "You can say no. Just because I'm asking you out in front of…" He nervously looked around at the campers' eager looks and sighed, "…so _many_ , eavesdropping people-"

"Hey!" Percy took offense, "It's not our fault you're doing this in the middle of the dining pavilion! We have the right to listen -oof!" Annabeth elbowed him in his side. Nico rolled his eyes at his cousin's words.

"Anyway, don't feel pressured to say yes." Nico went back to looking at Will in the eyes, "And uhm, if you _do_ say no, I hope we can still be friends and I'm sorry _again_ -"

Will huffed and flicked the son of Hades on the nose. Nico glared at him and rubbed his nose. "You really need to look at the brighter side of things." He said fondly, eyes soft. "But then again, maybe that's what you need me for, to see the brighter side of things."

Nico's eyes widened, "Does that mean-?"

Will leaned forward, milking the attention and embarrassing Nico further by rubbing their noses together. The tips of the son of Hades' ears were red. "Yes." He said, "And thank you for going out of your comfort zone to make a public declaration with a _minimum_ chance that I would get back on you by dumping your ass in front of everyone."

The campers started to applaud, cat-calling while Percy and Jason ribbed each other like this was their plan all along. Kayla looked unbearably smug.

Nico looked laughingly serious when he whispered to Will, "I would have deserved it." Everyone had gone back to preparing for the sing-along.

Will sighed, " _No_ , you don't deserve that, gods, we have a lot of self-worth to work on." He grumbled, "I have my work cut out for me."

"Thank goodness he's a hot piece of ass, right Will?" Kayla called out, because she lives to make his life miserable.

Will rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her.

Kayla laughed, just happy that she had her brother back. "Rude!"

Will laughed and to his entire cabin's happiness, he pulled Nico into a surprise hug, pressing his smile against the flustered son of Hades' blushing cheek.

They did good.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** I honestly do not know how the couples in Rick's books get together. Like one moment they're a prospective love team and next boom! They're girlfriend and boyfriend without anyone asking anyone out on a date.

Bailci, belated happy birthday again!


End file.
